WHY?

Let us make this the Rohee day.  This will be the last Christmas with a Home Affairs Minister called Rohee.

Good response, characteristically puffed-up. Let's have some more.

Oi Clement a/k Henry.  Don't worry you not losing your Minista wuk, the DUCK putting you in Finance to watch Shattie the dwarf who is the bag man for the big deals.

Prez Ramu tired of the lick up and lick down of the economy by the Jagdeoites.

Time for the real PPP men to step forward.

Could we have something a little more grandiose, like how the AFC is now poised to rule the western hemisphere, or something along those lines?

I'm surprised that none of the AFCers want to talk about the AFC. I was expecting some spectacular claims about the AFC's success, something "truly incredible" like when they found a real estate lawyer in New Jersey who was willing to advise the Guyanese Parliament on parliamentary procedure.

 The success is they have highlighted corruption and make it a point of focus. Their success is that they have made the PPP a minority government despite their clamoring about being a populace working class party. They are a party of crooks. Whether the lawyer is from Timbuktu or Peoria, the point is they PPP are crooks who thing the nation is their daddy's legacy.

Here is an interview that was done in New York with AFC member of Parliament, Dr. Ramayya. The newspaper is the 'West Indian' and the article appeared on Dec 15, 2012.

                     Power-Sharing is Best Solution for Guyana, says AFC’s Dr. Ramayya

     We have in Guyana an opposition that has the majority in Parliament and they are using the single majority vote to show their power. In the 2011 elections a PPP stalwart Moses Nagamootoo defected from the Party and joined with the opposition Alliance for Change (AFC). That party went on to win six seats and Mr. Nagamootoo is seen as the person that broke the PPP stranglehold in Region 6 which is Berbice. Mr. Nagamootoo sits in Parliament as an AFC member and so does Dr. Veerasammy Ramayya who is also from Berbice.

      We caught up with Dr. Ramayya and in this exclusive interview asked him about Guyana, the current situation, the Rohee affair and what he sees as the solution to Guyana’s political problems.

     Q: Dr. Ramayya, welcome to the ‘West Indian.’ Let us begin by asking you about your academic qualifications. What kind of a doctor are you?

      A: Thank you. I hold a double Bachelor’s from Hunter College in New York and also a doctorate from New School for Social Research. I also have three diplomas in Aryuvedic medicine. I am practicing alternative medicine in Guyana.

      Q: When did you finish your PhD and what made you go into politics?

       A: I finished my PhD in the late eighties. As a boy I was in politics in the PPP. I returned to Guyana after the 1992 elections to make a contribution. I found that the situation was worse than when the country was run by the PNC.

       Q: You mean during the presidency of the late Cheddi Jagan?

        A: Yes, only people with Party cards got jobs, especially in Region 6. They selected 28 people for the Local Government elections. I questioned it and was seen as a threat. So I formed my own Party and I picked up six seats. Then I had my own TV show on Channel 8 called ‘ Issues of the People’ and this gave me a lot of credibility. In 1997 Moses Nagamootoo asked me to help the PPP and I did this in the background, at the grassroots level.

      Q: You ran against the PPP in the local government elections but you helped them in the national elections?

      A: I thought that with Moses around we could get the changes we wanted. This did not happen and in 2000 I was approached by Ravi Dev but I was totally disappointed by Ravi’s party. I thought we would have had 3 to 4 seats but we managed only one. I continued working at the grass roots and in 2006 I was approached by Messrs. Ramjattan and Trotman. But I was reluctant to support a third party.

    Q: Why was that?

     A: I felt that the Indian people would not change. I did grassroots politics. I studied the Indian people.

      Q: What you mean by ‘ Indian people would not change?’

       A: They did not want to get away from the PPP ideology. There is little change now, except among the educated. After the 2008 elections I invited Ramjattan and Trotman on my program. The PPP labeled me an AFC so I said I might as well join them.

      Q: What was the response like in the AFC?

       A: Very good. They saw what I was doing. If you followed the 2011 elections you will see that I made the difference in Region 6 by getting the AFC to win 2 seats.

       Q: You made the difference or was it Moses?

        A: Moses came over four weeks before the election. He did not make the difference. I was there since 1993 working with the people. The groundwork was done by me.

        Q: So Moses is riding the big wave that you started?

         A: Yes. I think that consciously Moses knows that this is the case. If you take me out of the picture the AFC will never get 2 seats in Region 6.

         Q: In that case are the other parties making overtures to you?

          A: They do all the time. I was approached by Ministers of the Government to switch sides but I can’t because they are not credible people.

          Q: So if they were credible you would switch?

          A: No, I won’t.

          Q: Why not?

          A: I have my reputation and credibility to protect. There is no accountability and transparency in the Government.

          Q: So what are your future plans?

          A: I want to give Moses a shot.

          Q: A shot at what? You want him to be President?

          A: Yes. The party will have to pick the candidate at the convention. But there is no one else with the credibility of Moses even though a lot of his credibility was destroyed by the PPP in the last elections. They are depending that I can turn things around in Berbice. The PPP is working hard to get back those 13,000 votes in Region 6 but it won’t be easy for them.

          Q: Won’t people in the AFC be reluctant to nominate Moses by arguing that he has only recently arrived?

          A: Some people may be dissatisfied with a Moses candidacy but he has been around for nearly 50 years. I have seen people in the AFC that did not work hard and got positions but that is all politics.  

          Q: Is there in-fighting in the AFC?

          A: No, this is all propaganda.

          Q: Let’s talk about the allegations made against you concerning the misappropriation of funds. Yusuf said that monies with which you were entrusted have gone missing. In other words you have not kept proper accounting. How do you respond to that?

          Q: Yusuf has no credibility. He was with Ravi and Ravi fired him on the spot. I wish Khemraj could have done the same. I put 9 million dollars of my personal money in the last campaign. The AFC gave me 6.2 million dollars that could not do a lot. I had 30 people working for me full time and we were on the ground for six months and these employees had to be given 3 meals per day. They asked me for receipts for items we purchased in the market and that made me upset. The PPP spent half of a billion dollars in Berbice and what was the result?

       Q: Is there some auditing going on, an investigation into your accounting?

        A: No, nothing. Why should I take party money? If my building was not sold in New Amsterdam we could not have won. I put that money into the campaign.

        Q: Can the PPP win a majority again?

         A: In my opinion, no. If the AFC has the money and accountability I can pick up three seats in Region 6.

          Q: Let us turn to the Clement Rohee matter. Why is the AFC so vehemently opposed to him speaking in Parliament?

          A: There are too many crimes in Guyana and endless killings in Berbice. The Police are involved in some of these crimes and Rohee has done little to deal with the crime situation. He said he had no knowledge of the Linden situation but it is widely believed in Linden that he did speak to the Commander before the riots. They said that the bullets used did not come from the police. Where did they come from?

          Q: Why don’t you wait for the Commission of Enquiry Report?

          A: It seems like the Commission is working for the Government.    

          Q: Finally, how can we solve the present crisis in Guyana.

          A: We should give power sharing a chance.

          Q: You mean dividing up Ministries?

             A: It won’t be easy. We should all sit down and work it out. The parties working together might be the best solution for Guyana. 

Ramaya said it was he and not Moses that is responsible for the 2 seats in Berbice. Interesting indeed.

one of the good thing about the AFC party,the people have the right to choose their leader.unlike that party with people like joe in it

Rammaya has come clean about the money, where is Yusuf? He should explain himself.